The Before I Sold Out EP
label: syntax

producers: know1, john huss, flick, fact, jamiel, rodcomz, others.

guests: elias
year of release: 2002
website: lukegeraty.com
 
An EP seems to be allowed to be anything from like four to eleven songs. But there's also albums with only ten songs on 'em. Hmmm.... So without us wanting to find the logic in this right now, we shall give praise and a happy hoopla to Luke Geraty for doing an eleven track EP called "The Before I Sold Out EP", and also for giving us more Know1 beats. Do you remember that kid? We used every chance we got to shout him out and letting you know that Know1 is good. And that he is, he again proves on the two cuts on here: "Million Miles" and "Travelling Remix". The first is hopefully content, with Know1 having found the right vibes for this, uhm, vibe, while Luke talks about the paths life always takes, the travel life always is. And knowing such, you realize that the beat is the calm home, where Luke can always come back to. Now as good as this is, Know1 is not missing a step with the "Travelling Remix", that thematically goes a similar route, but on the beat tip is just massive. So while Know1 was good, he now got even better and we are not humble enough, and don't you dare to pretend like we didn't tell you months ago.

tracklisting
1. Intro
2. Drowning In My Dreams
3. Million Miles
4. Listen Up
5. Traveling Remix
6. Crayons
7. Success feat. Elias
8. Condescending Comprehension
9. I'll Be Good To You
10. A Day In The Life Of...
11. Outro
But these two cuts are actually not the only good songs on here, as we also enjoy the nocturnal "Drowning In My Dreams", with the strings through the chorus being irishly ill and hooked up by John Huss. Luke talks about poetic reflections with a strong melancholy that's enhanced by the music. In full contrast, "Listen Up" simply asks you to bounce to the beat. Hence the beat is, well, bouncy and the lyrics are of happily flowing proportions, doing a little bragging, a little dissing, but all within the good vibe and in between the nifty flute sample during the chorus. Despite the topic of "Crayons" being nothing to joke about, Luke covers it with the necessary carefulness and taste, when he speaks of this unfortunate childhood.
We are starting to get thoroughly impressed, when the seventh song on the album is the seventh dope song on here. On "Success" Luke teams up with Elias over a humming Fact beat. The topic is again sad, but it's not mushy and not self righteous or moaning. Hence we can relate to it, and we can even agree. And it doesn't ask us to be soaking in it and to not enjoy the driving and pushing "Condescending Comprehension", that's another bouncy cut that will get you moving from the very first second. This cut got such a forward direction, there's no way it's not blowing you with it.
This then however marks the moment where the EP drops a couple of notches on the beat tip, with Illustrate not coming too good on "I'll Be Good To You", a track where Luke is talking to a lady. Better again is "A Day In The Life Of..." with Rocdomz of the Sackcloth massive offering a spacey beat, that positions Luke in a dream like state in style, but not in content, that still keep the feet on the ground. That leaves us with the hard to finding a reason in "Outro", that's some four and a half minutes of a completely distorted sounds, that you can't listen to. But that's nothing that really should bother us, as we just listened to a really good EP.
review: tadah
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